The AI Pulse

Issue #31 — 19th May 2025

Editor: Alan Brown

Welcome to the latest edition of The AI Pulse for Digital Leaders. An expertly curated collection of essential articles, commentaries, and news stories from reputable sources. Do you know anyone who might be interested in AI Pulse. Have some news or looking to partner? Just get in touch at: [email protected]

Highlights in this edition include:

Pope Leo XIV identifies AI as one of the main challenges for humanity.

How to build an AI-ready culture.

The world’s first AI-powered park is coming to the UK.

The UK government has launched an AI tool to speed up public consultations.

The new economics of enterprise technology in an AI world.

AI for Good

UKAuthority reports that a new AI tool for summarising government consultation responses has been used for the first time and produced nearly identical results to when humans carried out the process.

Waymo reports that its use of AI is reducing serious crashes and making streets safer for those most at risk .

Deloitte’s “State of the State 2025” is a survey of 5,000 UK citizens and 80 public sector leaders to create a vision for the next 10 years of government.

McKinsey explores how GenAI is set to create significant value across sectors, and why Africa has an opportunity to leapfrog other regions to capitalize on this transformative technology.

Bias and Ethics

AP News reports that one of Pope Leo XIV’s first speeches identifies AI as a main challenge for humanity.

Wired discusses how to build an AI-ready culture.

Time magazine has published a very good essay from Yoshua Bengio with his views on a potential path to safer AI development.

Cyber Security

The EU has announced that it has launched a European vulnerability database to boost its digital security.

The US Marine Corps has issued a fascinating AI implementation plan for how they plan to deploy AI.

UKAuthority reports that the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has warned that the incorporation of AI into critical national infrastructure is presenting an increased attack surface for adversaries.

Data & Decision Making

The Data Scientist looks at AI and keeping your data safe in a wild digital world.

A blog from LSE academics presents a vision of a healthcare system transformed by AI and real-world data .

CIO Magazine has released its State of CIO Survey 2025 which outlines the evolving multi-faceted role of CIOs in AI transformation — one that requires strategic vision, a collaborative mindset, and change agent skills

Innovation & Collaboration

A new IBM study of 750 executives reveals that over 80% view automating global business services as a key strategic goal, with 86% expecting AI agents to significantly enhance process automation and workflow reinvention by 2027.

ZDNET reviews a Forrester report that concludes that AI agents bring big risks and rewards for daring early adopters.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Johnson & Johnson has pivoted its AI strategy to focus on only the highest-value GenAI use cases and shut down pilots that were redundant or underdelivering.

Productivity & Efficiency

A new report from McKinsey looks at the new economics of enterprise technology in an AI world.

ZDNET looks at how AI can help you finally demolish your business's mounting technical debt .

The Guardian reports that the UK government has launched an AI tool to speed up public consultations which will analyse responses 1,000 times faster than a human.

Strategy& has released a substantial study, “Future of Health”, that reveals how the emerging LIFEcare ecosystem is creating substantial value for both consumers and companies.

IBM’s annual CEO study focuses on how to move from productivity to performance with agentic AI.

Regulation and Compliance

A whitepaper from IBM considers the risks associated with agentic AI in financial services and why a robust risk management framework is essential.

EU-Agenda has issued a very useful guide to the European AI innovation ecosystem that outlines the EU infrastructure capabilities.

CIO Magazine looks at how to establish an effective AI governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) framework.

Sustainability

Sustainability Magazine asks how sustainable can ChatGPT and DeepSeek really be?

Queen Mary University reviews approaches to sustainable education in the age of AI .

In a blog for LSE, Professor Nick Couldry asks if using AI for trivial tasks hurts the planet.

User Experience

Time Out reports that the world’s first AI-powered park is coming to the UK – with ‘talking trees’. Why not?

Customer Experience Dive reports that a year after claiming that its AI chatbot could do the work of 700 representatives, Klarna has reversed its AI-first strategy and will hire more human customer service staff.

Workforce & Skills

ZDNET asks will AI destroy your job or upgrade it? And concludes that it depends on your skillset.

TechRepublic reports that many sales personnel struggle with applying GenAI to specific tasks or have to prompt repeatedly to generate a useful answer.

Fortune magazine reports on a study looking at AI chatbots in 7,000 workplaces and finds “no significant impact on earnings or recorded hours in any occupation”.

Have a comment or a story you’d like to share with us?

Just get in touch at: [email protected]

Do you know anyone who might be interested in AI Pulse

Refer a Friend

The AI Pulse is a free newsletter for Digital Leaders members. Pledge your support.